Forest Green Rovers to build football stadium out of wood

The English fifth-tier club Forest Green Rovers is planning to build a football stadium out of wood, which would bring it the title of the “greenest” football club in the world. This would be the first such facility in the world.

The club believes that the idea is fully in line with its name and that wood is the material of the future. The stadium is supposed to have a capacity of 5,000 seats and contain numerous ecological features.

The company Ecotricity is the club's partner. It has been supplying clean energy for seven years now. The club is looking to climb from the fifth to the second tier.

Chairman Dale Vince emphasizes that this is a look towards the future for both Ecotricity and the club.

– The really standout thing about this stadium is that it’s going to be almost entirely made of wood – the first time that will have been done anywhere in the world. The importance of wood is not only that it’s naturally occurring, it has very low embodied carbon – about as low as it gets for a building material. And when you bear in mind that around three quarters of the lifetime carbon impact of any stadium comes from its building materials, you can see why that’s so important – and it’s why our new stadium will have the lowest embodied carbon of any stadium in the world – Vince explains.

Over 50 conceptual designs by the leading world architects were submitted in the seven months of the contest. The winning solution is that of the architectural studio of the recently deceased architect Zaha Hadid.

A true green revolution has been initiated in Forest Green Rovers in the past years. The current stadium features organic grass, uses solar energy and robotic lawnmowers. Even the menu offered to the football players is vegan.

The club was founded in 1889. The games are played in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, and the new stadium will be located six kilometers away from the current one.

Forest Green Rovers

wooden football stadium

Ecotricity

Dale Vince

Zaha Hadid